6 02 Tools Telfeyan IGrADS Presentation

Slide1: 

The Interactive Grid Analysis and Display System (IGrADS) for the U.S. Armed Forces Major Lee A. Byerle Chief, Warfighter Support Development Team HQ Air Force Weather Agency Lee.Byerle@afwa.af.mil 5 Oct 05

IGrADS: 

IGrADS IGrADS developed at Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA) Available over JAAWIN (AFWA’s website) https://weather.afwa.af.mil/igrads.html Background MM5 declared operational at AFWA Oct 97 Up to 30 theaters covering 98% of world’s landmasses Large numbers (> 250,000) of visualizations were pre-staged daily from AFWA’s MM5 output Problem: excessive amount of processing needed to create visualized products

Interactive Solution: 

Interactive Solution Challenge: we needed to create an interactive tool Allow forecasters to create the charts they needed This tool would allow large amounts of processing power to be freed up for production and developmental efforts Initial interactive capability - IMaST Unveiled on JAAWIN in May 2001 Limited to meteograms and forecast skew-Ts Immensely popular with forecasters and customers Expanded capability - IGrADS Fielded in Feb 2002 Capability expansion continues through the present Available models and product types expanded significantly beyond IMaST

Slide4: 

https://weather.afwa.af.mil

Slide5: 

Model Choices https://weather.afwa.af.mil/igrads.html {

Available MeteorologicalModels: 

Available Meteorological Models AFWA MM5 (will transition to WRF) AFWA Diagnostic Cloud Forecast (DCF) Algorithm AFWA Stochastic Cloud Forecast Model (SCFM) NCEP GFS NCEP Eta (becoming NAM) US Navy NOGAPS US Navy COAMPS UKMO (Middle East Theater)

Slide7: 

https://weather.afwa.af.mil/igrads.html Product Choices {

Products offered by IGrADS: 

Products offered by IGrADS Meteograms (MM5, Advect Cloud, GFS, Eta, NOGAPS, COAMPS, and UKMO) MM5 Army low-level meteograms MM5 severe weather meteogram GFS meteograms (0 to 180 hour and 192-384 hour) GFS and NOGAPS stratospheric meteograms User defined meteograms Forecast skew-Ts

Products offered by IGrADS(continued): 

Vertical cross-sections Multiple leg cross-sections Forecast maps (color filled, contoured, both) Alphanumeric output products Four-panel forecast maps (five different types) AFWA Worldwide Merged Cloud Analysis Products offered by IGrADS (continued)

IGrADS AlphanumericProducts: 

IGrADS Alphanumeric Products MM5-based Forecast vertical profile “FOUS” bulletin (similar to Eta and NGM output from NCEP) RAOB bulletin Precision airdrop wind profile Chemical downwind message Basic wind message Field artillery forecast GFS-based “FOUS” bulletin (0 to 180 hours at 3 hour intervals) RAOB bulletin Precision airdrop wind profile Chemical downwind message Basic wind message COAMPS-based Basic wind message

IGrADS Map Display Options: 

IGrADS Map Display Options World Map centered on Prime Meridian World Map centered on International Dateline All MM5 theater maps United Kingdom Meteorological Office (UKMO) Middle East domain Continental United States (CONUS) NAM (Eta) domain Coupled Ocean/Atmospheric Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS) Middle East domain

Slide12: 

Meteograms (from Pole to Equator to Pole)

Slide13: 

User Defined Meteogram submenu

MM5 User Defined MeteogramNorthern Siberia: 

MM5 User Defined Meteogram Northern Siberia Winds, temperatures, clouds, RH, and icing Sea Level Pressure and 1000-500 mb thickness 1000-850 mb and 850-700 mb thicknesses Surface winds (knots) Surface visibility (km) 3-hour precipitation, amount and type Surface temperature, DP, and wind chill

Forecast Skew-T: 

Forecast Skew-T

Vertical Cross Section Hurricane Frances (Valid 30 Aug 04/0000Z), directly through the eye: 

FL winds Turbulence Relative Humidity Vertical velocity Potential temperature Vertical Cross Section Hurricane Frances (Valid 30 Aug 04/0000Z), directly through the eye

Slide17: 

Vertical Cross Section--Looping capability

Slide18: 

Sample Trans-Atlantic Vertical Cross Section

Slide19: 

Forecast Maps submenu { Display Options

Slide20: 

Pre-Staged SLP, 1000-500 mb Thickness Chart

Slide21: 

Forecast Map (IGrADS) SLP, 1000-500 mb Thickness Chart, Winds, Precip

Forecast Map  Super Typhoon Chaba (valid 25 Aug 04/1200Z), south of Japan: 

Forecast Map Super Typhoon Chaba (valid 25 Aug 04/1200Z), south of Japan Sea Level Pressure contours (mb) (black) Surface winds (knots) (color-filled)

Forecast Map and User Defined MeteogramConvective wind gust potential, southeast Australia: 

Forecast Map and User Defined Meteogram Convective wind gust potential, southeast Australia

Standard Forecast #1 Four-Panel Map Heavy snow, freezing rain over Ohio, 24 Dec 04: 

Standard Forecast #1 Four-Panel Map Heavy snow, freezing rain over Ohio, 24 Dec 04 925 mb heights, winds (barbs), and RH (color filled) Sea level pressure (mb), 1000-500 mb thickness (dm), and 3-hour precipitation (color filled) 700 mb heights and RH (contours), and 700 mb vertical velocity (color filled) 500 mb heights (dm), 500 mb temperatures (C), and 500 mb relative vorticity (color filled)

Winter Weather Four-Panel Forecast Map Heavy snow, freezing rain over Ohio, 24 Dec 04: 

Winter Weather Four-Panel Forecast Map Heavy snow, freezing rain over Ohio, 24 Dec 04 1000-850mb thickness, 925 mb winds, and 3-hr snowfall 1000-500 mb thickness, 700 mb winds, and 3-hr precipitation Surface temperature and precipitation type (color filled) Surface visibility, surface winds, and wind chill temperature

Severe Weather Four-Panel Forecast MapCentral South Africa, forecast valid 5 Oct 05/1800Z: 

Severe Weather Four-Panel Forecast Map Central South Africa, forecast valid 5 Oct 05/1800Z Total Totals SWEAT Index K-Index CAPE

Stochastic Cloud Forecast Model (SCFM)Meteogram and Forecast Map, Valid 21 - 23 Dec 04: 

Stochastic Cloud Forecast Model (SCFM) Meteogram and Forecast Map, Valid 21 - 23 Dec 04

Slide28: 

Alphanumeric output submenu

Sample Alphanumeric Product: 

Sample Alphanumeric Product

Legend for FOUS: 

Legend for FOUS

20-22 April 2002 Snowstorm,Northern Plains and Upper Great Lakes: 

20-22 April 2002 Snowstorm, Northern Plains and Upper Great Lakes IGrADS Case Study

Slide32: 

Surface Chart, 21 April 02 at 1200Z

Slide33: 

MM5 48-Hour Accumulated Snow Forecast, 20-22 April 2002

Slide35: 

A B C D Vertical Cross Sections, 21 April 02 at 1200Z

Slide36: 

Vertical Cross Section Options CONUS 15-km

Slide37: 

A B A B

Slide38: 

C D C D

IGrADS Customer Feedback: 

IGrADS Customer Feedback Kadena AB, Okinawa: “ … we often use your site for planning missions up to 72 hours out. The forecasts aid greatly in our decision making during the planning and execution phases of our missions (air refueling, air delivery, low level flight, short field landings, and basic point A to point B logistics flights).” Thule AB, Greenland: “I usually print out a vertical cross-section and include it with the pre-takeoff briefing package. Aircrews rave about the product.” Captain deployed in Afghanistan: “IGrADS has been the decisive difference we need. I use it extensively … especially the Afghan 5 km window for the model skew-Ts.”

Summary: 

Summary IGrADS is the DoD’s premier interactive weather forecast visualization tool Available through AFWA’s JAAWIN website Wide range of meteorological models Broad array of products (visualizations and alphanumeric) Product availability for the entire globe Continued expansion of capabilities ongoing Additional models, observational data Space weather forecast and observed products Accelerated product creation and delivery https://weather.afwa.af.mil/igrads.html